Lawsuit Forces NYCHA To Remove Mold In Days, Not Months

A resident of the Melrose Houses in the Bronx has waited four years for NYCHA to fix her closet

A lawsuit and settlement agreement filed in federal court will force NYCHA to swiftly remove mold from public housing units. Previously the housing authority had painted over or bleached moldy walls, which caused residents with asthma and other respiratory ailments to suffer difficulty breathing, wheezing, hospitalization, and a proliferation of cockroaches and other vermin in their apartments. Now, under the review of a federal judge, NYCHA must remove mold from afflicted units in 15 days or less, and has to maintain these response times 95% of the time for at least three years. Previously NYCHA took months or even years to remove mold.

The mayor's office has also agreed to a pilot program to use electronic moisture monitors to address future issues without "eyeballing it," as has been NYCHA's practice in the past.

"Because of the mold in my apartment, I have more trouble breathing at home than I do outside,” 43-year-old Maribel Baez, a resident of the Melrose houses in the South Bronx, says in a release. “Home should be a place where you are safe, not a place that hurts you."